Category Archives: Photographs: Utah

Stream and Sandstone Cliff

Stream and Sandstone Cliff
“Stream and Sandstone Cliff” — Sandstone cliffs at the bend in the canyon of a remote Utah river.

This is a photograph from over a decade ago. (More on how it ended up here today below.) A small group of us spent time photographing in Utah, often in remote places. One day we dropped into a canyon and followed this stream. As so often happens in these narrow, winding canyons, “one good turn led to another,” and we kept going as each bend revealed another interesting section. We finally stopped very close to this scene, made some final photographs, and headed back upstream.

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Autumn Trees, Canyon Wall

Autumn Trees, Canyon Wall
“Autumn Trees, Canyon Wall” — A small grove of autumn cottonwood trees next to the wall of a Utah canyon.

A few years ago three of us explored a long section of narrow canyon in Utah, looking for photographs in this rich landscape. We started in a broad valley where a stream flowed between low hills, but soon the walls rose and steepened and the valley narrowed, and we found ourselves following a creek. The canyon was alternately wide and then narrow and constricted.

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Photographer, Canyon Country

Photographer, Canyon Country
“Photographer, Canyon Country” — A photographer at work deep in a Southwest Utah sandstone canyon.

Deserts offer few clues about the scale of the landscape. Unlike forest scenes, where trees often provide a frame of reference, plants often play a lesser role. Even when there are plants it can be unclear from a distance whether they are large trees or small shrubs. Here the inclusion of the human figure clarifies the scale of the grand Utah red rock landscape.

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A Red Rock Canyon

A Red Rock Canyon
“A Red Rock Canyon” — A rocky canyon filled with trees twists through the landscape of Capitol Reef National Park.

The photograph comes from a trip some years back that took me to Capitol Reef National Park. Although it was challenging to find the right composition, I wanted to get a photograph of this bend in an anonymous red rock canyon where trees were tucked into the edge of hollowed out rock. The feature is fascinating, but it is more or less unmarked, like so many similar features in this landscape.

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